Offer knocks Victorian teen's Sox off

Rhys Taylor has signed with US major league power, the Boston Red Sox.
Picture: VINCE CALIGIURI

When Rhys Taylor broke his arm in a freak pitching incident two years ago, his dreams of becoming a top baseball player seemed, to him at least, over.

Indeed, major surgery and a frustrating year on the sidelines ensued for the Shepparton teenager, half of that with his right arm in a cast to heal the bone in his elbow that snapped mid-throw because of his slightly awkward action, with his only reason to hope being the words of encouragement from his local team coach and family.

Yet last week, the 18-year-old was plucked from country baseball obscurity to be signed by American Major League Baseball club the Boston Red Sox.

More than 70 Australians are signed with major league teams, with a few such as Kansas City Royals pitcher Graeme Lloyd, a former Geelong player, actually forging a long career in the big league. But what makes Taylor's signing extraordinary is that he has not been part of any elite training programs at either the Victorian Institute of Sport or its national counterpart.

Having made the under-14 Victorian team aged 11, he chose to play for the Shepparton Colts in the Goulburn Valley Baseball League and during the summer for Preston, then Fitzroy.

"I'm still coming to grips with it, it still hasn't hit me yet," Taylor said yesterday from his family's home in Kialla, just outside Shepparton. "This time last week, I was just a pitcher, playing in the ones for Fitzroy, hoping that I would get a chance to be signed.

"I thought I had a couple of years to go and try to prove myself. I had no idea I would be signed."

According to the man who signed Taylor, Jon Deeble - the Australian Olympic baseball coach who is also the director of Pacific Rim scouting for the Red Sox - Taylor is potentially one of the best pitching talents Australia has produced in some time.

"There might be a few kids around who could throw as fast as him, but there would be none who are faster," Deeble said yesterday.

"He's been one out of left field, really. He hasn't come through the traditional routes, which is very unusual, and from what we've seen at the Red Sox, he's been a late developer."

Deeble first saw Taylor when he (Deeble) was coaching a junior team at Preston when Taylor first played juniors in Melbourne. But soon afterwards, Taylor switched to Fitzroy and Deeble lost sight of him until this year, when he spotted him at the under-18 national championships in Canberra.

What impressed Deeble was obviously Taylor's fast ball, but also the fact that at only 17, he already stood 187 centimetres and was likely to grow more.

"Back then, he was 81 to 83 miles per hour (130-134 km/h) and now he is up into the high 80s and we see him filling out nicely in the body," Deeble said. "He's six three now (191 centimetres) and only 154 pounds (70 kilograms) and we see him getting a bit taller and being 224 pounds (102 kilograms).

"I just think he has got a good arm and good free lose delivery. Obviously, he's a project for us, but hopefully he can add a bit of muscle and I think he can throw in the mid-90s (150 km/h), which is a good above average major league fast ball."

In the meantime, Taylor has been placed on a diet and muscle-building program to build his body before heading off in March to spring training in Boston, where he will stay for three months.

Should he impress immediately, he could be asked to stay on and begin his major career earlier than expected, an outcome Deeble does not find out of the question. Otherwise, he will come back to the Gold Coast, where the American Major League Baseball has an academy, and play and train there for most of the year before again returning to Boston in 2005 for spring training.

While he works his way into either the minor or major leagues, Taylor will be paid a modest $US850 ($A1150) a month, although all of his expenses will be paid and he has also been offered a university scholarship should his baseball career not work out.

"It is my dream to play in the majors. What gave me a surprise the other day was when Jon said, 'Now you're a professional baseballer.' I just couldn't believe it," he said.